CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The city of Chicago and Metra want to place a train station in the bustling Fulton Market neighborhood but the price tag could top a billion dollars.
Fulton Market, which is west of downtown, is one of the fastest-growing regions of Chicago and both the city and Metra want to meet the transit needs of the neighborhood by building a train station at Ashland Avenue on the rail line that parallels Kinzie Street through the West Side.
That stretch of track serves the Union Pacific West line, both Milwaukee District lines and the North Central service.
But in order to build the train station, Metra would have to build a flyover junction at Western Avenue.
Over 200 trains a day pass through the web of interlocking rail crossings and one official said placing a train station near the junction is akin to putting a four way stop sign in the middle of an expressway.
The cost of the station and the flyover junction would exceed a billion dollars, with the federal government providing most of the money.
The city said the project requires more study.